The BJP has sent a showcause notice to its lawmaker Sakshi Maharaj in response to his slew of recent controversial comments. He is expected to reply within ten days.

The action against Sakshi Maharaj comes days after his latest comment - that Hindu woman should "give birth to four children to protect the Hindu religion" - created a storm, with political opponents demanding an explanation from the Prime Minister.

Distancing itself, the BJP had said it was a personal opinion of the MP and not that of the party's.

"We strongly urge our workers to focus on promoting the good work done by the government and refrain from getting involved in unnecessary statements," party spokesperson Shrikant Sharma had said.

But the 58-year-old Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh did not express any regret for his remark. A day later, he said, "Raat gayi, baat gayi (As time passed, the matter also ended)."

Over the last couple of months, the BJP had been struggling to control its parliamentarians who have been wading into controversies one after the other. Last month, at a closed-door meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked them not to cross the "lakshman rekha" and made it clear that it was non-negotiable.

"I will not compromise on this," he had warned soon after Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti had used an expletive at a campaign rally in Delhi, making the BJP vulnerable to a massive attack by the opposition.

BJP MPs like Yogi Adityanath have continued to make public statements backing religious conversions and even announcing more conversion programmes.

Sakshi Maharaj had also attracted criticism following his comments about Nathuram Godse being a "patriot" and not an "anti-national"